17 Going On 7

Chapter 1
Grow Up!

Lily sighed and pushed a wisp of bright red hair out of her face. "Move it! Coming through! People, move!" She was growing more and more desperate to get to the source of the excitement. After all, as she was Head Girl, it was her duty to make sure everything ran smoothly.

Lily was not surprised when she reached a group of five boys at the middle of the crowd. Four of them were laughing almost hysterically, and one of them was red-faced and on the ground spewing slugs out of his mouth. "Potter! What the hell is your problem with -"

It only took a second for James Potter to realize it was Lily Evans who was yelling at him. He pushed Sirius forward, who tripped over Snape (the one spewing slugs) and landed flat on his face. "Damn you, Prongs!" yelled Sirius, trying to peel himself off the ground, but James put his foot over him to stop him. Sirius got the picture and stayed down.

"And if you EVER try to curse Snivellus again -" started James.

"Oh, just shut up, Potter!" screamed Lily. She turned to Sirius. "Get up, you crazy git. God, I cannot believe my own friends associate with people like you."

"Hey, take that back!" said Lupin, offering a hand to help Sirius off the ground.

"Yeah, really." It one of Lily's best friends. She turned around to see Alexis, Melanie, and Chloe all staring at her with laughter dancing in their eyes.

"You guys, this is so not funny," Lily whined, turning to glare at James. He reached to the back of his head and rumpled his hair, causing a great deal of eye rolling from all four of the girls. "I mean, not only are they cursing innocent people, but they're all so ... arrogant!"

"Oh, come on, Miss Evans!" said James. "We're not that bad. Surely, you're exaggerating?"

"Oh, shut it, James!" said Alexis.

"Allie, how about you go -"

"POTTER!" screamed Lily.

"EVANS!" Sirius screamed back, mocking Lily.

"Oh, forget it," muttered Lily, pushing her way through the crowd. She turned back around. "I swear, Potter. One day this will all come back to you. I know it will."

"Thanks a lot, James!" cried Allie. "Lil! Come on, Lily!" she yelled after her friend, pushing her way through the crowd, which was now parting because there was no more bullying of Snape to watch. Mel and Chloe followed suit, chasing after Lily and James.

"I'm sorry!" James called after the girls, but it was no use.

"Prongs, you might as well give up..." said Sirius, resting his hand on his friend's shoulder. James hastily shrugged under Sirius's grip and his hand slid off his shoulder.

"Damn." And with that he walked off, raking both of his hands through his hair.

******

"I mean, honestly, we're in seventh year!" cried Lily. "He's seventeen! The least he could do is gain some maturity!"

"Oh, Lil, he isn't that bad. I mean, he fancies you! You're practically the luckiest girl in the school! Every girl wants him! Why don't you just -"

"Damn it, Mel! You don't get it! I. Hate. James. Potter!" Lily angrily swiped her books off her bed and flopped down on it. She buried her face in her pillow and screamed, then turned over to talk again. "I mean, most guys get the picture. It's simple. If a girl doesn't like you, you leave them alone and give up. That's that. The end. But nooo, not with James! He just has to chase after me like I'm a Snitch and -"

"Wow, Lils, you know how puns scare me..." said Chloe, shuddering.

Lily giggled and tossed a pillow at Chloe. "I'm sorry. No pun intended. It's not my fault he's a Seeker."

"And a damn good one, if I must say so -"

"Ah! Allie, no! Don't you dare compliment him at a time like -"

"What!" screeched Allie. "I can't help it if the boy that everybody fancies - oh, Lily, don't give me that look - is madly in love with you! Honestly!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Okay, you know what? I give up. I won't even try to have this conversation with you guys, because you're all so busy drooling over him that you don't even care about my problems!" The other three girls burst into laughter.

Once she started sobering up a bit, Allie said, "Well, Lils, I'm - hic - sorry. We just can't - hic - quite comprehend why you - hic - won't give him a chance!"

"Because he's so arrogant! He thinks he deserves whatever he wants! I'm sorry guys, but James Potter is an -"

"Arrogant asshole," they chorused. "We know, Lily."

******

Lily plopped down next between Allie and Mel at the Gryffindor table. They were talking to James about - her!?

"Um, yes, hello! I'm right here!" Lily said, waving her hands between Mel and Allie and James, who was sitting across the table.

"Oh, we know," said Mel. "I mean, why else would we talk about you?"

"Not funny," mumbled Lily, piling mashed potatoes onto her plate.

"Oh, um, Lils, there's a Prefects meeting tonight at -"

"I know, Potter, I'm not a complete idiot," she said. She looked up at him and glared. "What I wouldn't have done to have a shy Hufflepuff get that Head Boy badge instead of you..."

"Ooh, Lils likes a Hufflepuff! Who is it, miss Lillian Evans?" Mel was grinning like mad.

"I don't like a Hufflepuff. But anybody would be better than Potter." She glared at him again. "For God's sake, I would have paid the Giant Squid to take his place."

James looked hurt, but it was clearly an act. "Oh, now, come on, Lily! You know love me!"

"I don't!" cried Lily.

"But you do!" teased James.

"God James, don't you know when to shut the hell up?!" With that she stood up, slung her bag back on her shoulder, and stomped out of the Great Hall.

"Whoa, you know she's hating James right now," said Mel.

"Yeah, she never calls him by his first name," added Allie.

"What did I do so wrong?" James said quietly. "I always tease her, she knows I don't mean any -"

Chloe shot daggers at James. "You know James, maybe it's time you either grow up or learn to leave Lil alone. It was a cute little act at first, but you're really starting to get Lily in bad moods. Too often."

"Aww, now, c'mon," said Sirius. "It's probably just PMS. You know how -"

But Sirius wasn't able to finish his statement, as his face was met by every type of food imaginable, by all three of the girls.

"Come on, I can't eat around these - these - boys," spat Chloe. "They're making me nauseous."

And with that the girls stomped out of the Hall in the same fashion as Lily had, off to go find her.

******

Lily sat on her bed, quickly swiping angry tears away from her face. She heard a soft knock at the door. "Lils? It's Allie."

Before Lily could answer, Allie was climbing onto her bed to comfort her. "Oh, come on, Lily. You know he was just being a git. That's James, it's what he's known for. If you let him get to you, you're only letting him win."

"How is that supposed to make me feel better?!" sobbed Lily, hugging her pillow tighter to her chest. "I just want him to go away! He ruins everything!"

"Lily, you're overreacting." It was Melanie. She walked in and sat down at the foot of Lily's bed, along with Chloe. "Boys are like that - and they don't grow out of it. When they want to flirt, they sometimes do it in the most annoying ways. It's clear that James is head-over-heels in love with you. You could at least give him a chance."

"I will never give him a chance!" yelled Lily.

"You know what, Lily?" said Chloe. "I just got done telling James to grow up. But I have a new proposal. How about you both try out a new attitude?"

"I won't."

"Oh, but you will," said Chloe with a grin. "Because if you don't ... well, we know Lily Evans's weaknesses. And we will tell James."

Lily glared. "I'm not agreeing to anything, Chloe. Not until he shows some sign of ... mental improvement. The least he could do is stop messing with his hair!"

"Yesh, because it is sooo sexy that Lily just can't resist when he does that and she knows that -"

"SHUT UP, MELANIE! For the last time, I do not like James Potter!"

******

Lily looked over at James and glared. They were supposed to be conducting a Prefects meeting. The professors couldn't make it, as they had an emergency meeting with Filch over something stupid. Probably something James did, in fact, Lily thought hastily. That damned git. He was currently playing with a Snitch that he had stolen from God-knows-where.

"Potter, put that away," she snapped. He grabbed the Snitch and put it in his pocket.

"Sorry, my -"

"I'm not yours!" cried Lily. The rest of the Prefects were watching them carefully.

"Whatever you say, my -"

"Potter, just shut up!" she finally yelled. She wanted nothing more than to go to her dorm, away from James. Of course, it didn't help that they shared their own common room, and every time Lily went to the common room to study or even to just relax, James would pop up out of nowhere. Luckily, when he and the Marauders would conduct their 'top secret meetings' in her common room, she could pay him back by throwing sleepovers with her own friends in the common room. But oh, how she wished somebody else was Head Boy. Even if he didn't talk to her at all - at least he wouldn't be such a...

Lily was shaken out of her daydream when she heard Professor McGonagall walk in and slam the door behind her. "Oh, Potter, we're having a talk later," she hissed. James sighed inwardly and nodded. "So, Miss Evans, have you and James discussed what I left on my desk for you?"

Lily raised an eyebrow. "What? Professor, I don't recall -"

"Oh, my bad!" said James. "I forgot to tell her. Lily, we were supposed to -"

"It doesn't matter now!" snapped Lily. James inched away from Lily and sat down next to a fifth-year Prefect who looked utterly annoyed.

"Right, right..." McGonagall sighed and walked to the front of the room. "Well, we'll be conducting a Winter Ball this year." She looked nervously at James and Lily, who didn't seem to be paying any attention to her. James had the Snitch out again and Lily had a foggy look about her eyes, as though she were asleep with her eyes open. "The Head Boy and Head Girl will be in charge of all the committees and such, so you must be respectful to them and listen, not that you don't treat them with respect as it is. Anyway, here is the thing that I have a feeling will cause a bit of controversy. The Head Boy and Head Girl must share the opening dance."

James's hand clasped around the Snitch and he stared at McGonagall with a look as though she'd just thrown a hundred Galleons at him. Lily snapped out of her daze and let out a small shriek, then quickly brought her hand up to her mouth. Her eyes seemed to be bulging out of her head and she was staring at James with an intent to kill.

"But it will work," Professor McGonagall snapped. "Because it's a Hogwarts tradition, and I refuse to let your childish ways - Mr. Potter and Miss Evans - ruin that tradition. You have a month to learn to dance properly, but the real challenge will be learning to dance together." She looked about the crowd of Prefects, who seemed fit to burst with laughter any moment now. "Any questions? Comments?" Nobody spoke and nobody raised a hand. "Very well. This meeting is dismissed. Lily, James, would you like to call it?"

"Yeah, dismissed," Lily snapped.

"Ah, what a wonderful meeting! So sad to see it end so shortly! But, I suppose. Dismissed!" James was grinning like a madman.

Lily immediately picked up her bag and stomped out of the room, pushing through the crowd of Prefects without so much as an "excuse me". As much as James wanted to run after her, he had to stay so McGonagall could yell at him. Why did everybody automatically assume it was his fault when the hall leading to the Slytherin common room got bombarded with dungbombs?